Russian forces withdrawn from northern Ukraine

The illegal and unprovoked invasion of Ukraine by Russia is continuing. The United Kingdom's Ministry of Defence, on Friday, 8 April 2022, reported via its official Twitter account that Russian military forces have withdrawn fully from northern Ukraine.

The ministry, despite Russian forces continuing to shell eastern cities, notes military forces have advanced south. Izium, located on the Donets River, remains under Russian control. The south-eastern city, 75-miles southeast of Kharkiv, is home to approximately 45,884 Ukrainians.

"A busy week of international engagements finishes with a great visit to Zagreb today. Croatia is an important partner & ally to UK, NATO, and Ukraine," tweeted James Heappey MP.

A Ukrainian delegation, hosted by Heappey and Jeremy Quin MP, viewed demonstrations of UK military equipment on Salisbury Plain. The equipment could significantly support Ukrainian armed forces.

Heappey, the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Armed Forces, is the Conservative Party's MP for Wells. Quin, the Minister of State for Defence Procurement, serves as the Conservative Party's MP for Horsham. Both Heappey and Quin, elected to their seats during the same general election, have served their respective Somerset and West Sussex communities since 2015.

Vicky Ford MP, the Conservative Party's MP for Chelmsford, took to Twitter on Tuesday, 5 April 2022 to express her thoughts regarding the horrifying news coming out of Ukraine. Ford, serving her Essex community since 2017, is the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Africa, Latin America, and the Caribbean.

"UK is horrified by reports of hundreds of people killed in Moura, Mali with alleged involvement of Wagner Group," tweeted Ford. " There must be an urgent investigation to bring human rights abusers to justice ... I urge Mali gov to end all ties with Wagner Group."

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Accusations of Ukrainian government officials being Nazis, chiefly made by prominent Russians, is ridiculous. Dmitry Valerievich Utkin, one of Putin's trusted men, has received four Orders of Courage.

The Order of Courage, awarded to Russian Federation citizens, is supposed to reflect an act of courage and bravery carried out by the recipient. Selfless is a significant factor. There are examples where the silver cross has been awarded posthumously.

Finland, referenced in an article published by The New York Times, discovered works of art being transported to Russia from exhibitions displayed in Italy and Japan. The shipments, containing numerous priceless paintings and sculptures, might be subject to European Union sanctions.

The E.U. has stipulated many times it has imposed sanctions on Russia because of its invasion of Ukraine. It must be understood established sanctions only apply to luxury goods. Loaned artwork being transported back to the home museums is exempt. Russia, despite all these sanctions, is still attacking Ukraine. The available evidence suggests Russians care more for assets rather than human lives.

History is filled with countries taking artwork simply because no one stood in their way. Nazi Germans, during the Second World War, stole many pieces of priceless artwork from invaded countries. Russia, to a certain extent, did the same thing from numerous polish museums. The United Kingdom isn't without stolen artwork. Many British museums have within their possession numerous pieces of artwork and statues which metaphorically belong in far flung foreign fields.

Ukraine needs military aid. The United States, as referenced by Samuel Ramani, confirms that it has sent 100 Switchblade drones to Ukraine. Ramani, the holder of a DPhil (an Oxford equivalent of a PhD.), is an International Relations Associate Fellow at the United Kingdom's University of Oxford.

The United States Senate, allowing Biden to send weaponry and other supplies to Ukraine, has effectively re-established the Second World War Lend-Lease Act. The Lend-Lease Act, formally titled An Act to Promote the Defense of the United States, was enacted on Tuesday, 11 March 1941.

Republicans, noting Democrats voting in favour 238 to 25, couldn't prevent the Lend-Lease Act passing. Republicans, with only 24 votes favouring the passage, had mostly voted against providing military aid to the British. They hadn't forgiven the British for burning down the White House. A staggering 135 Republicans voted against it.

Britain, to the German Navy, saw 11 destroyers sunk over a 10-day period. Prime Minister Winston Churchill, seeing which way the wind was metaphorically blowing, requested military assistance from President Franklin D. Roosevelt. The measure, signed by Roosevelt, allowed the United States to quickly resupply Allies in the fight against Nazi Germany. Biden, supporting Ukraine, can now utilise the same act.

Evidence coming out of Russia clearly indicates not everyone is onboard with Putin's invasion. Dmitry Muratov, a Nobel Prize winning journalist, saw an as-of-yet unidentified assailant throw acetone and red paint at him when travelling aboard a Moscow-Samara train.

"Six of his newspaper's journalists," as David Beard references in a tweet Thursday, 7 April 2022, "have been killed over the years because of their work holding the government and its military to account."

Drawing a line between Muratov's recent statements and the attacker's motivations, not exactly rocket science, is as easy as A-to-Z. The Nobel Prize winner had expressed significant opposition to Russia's invasion of Ukraine.